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Long Walk To Freedom

Dear Paramendra,

For too many people, politics is a bad word. It's not surprising since for many people "politics" means talking heads screaming at each other on TV, or special interests stacking the deck in Washington.

We have an opportunity to change that. When politics gets local, when the person talking is your neighbor standing on your front porch, things change.

On June 9th, hundreds of thousands of people will have that experience as we take our campaign to the streets in all 50 states for a nationwide neighborhood walk.

We're calling it Walk for Change, and its success depends on you. I'm asking you for something extraordinary. I'm asking you to lead a group of supporters in your community in a neighborhood walk to let people know about our campaign.

If you agree to organize a walk, we'll mail you the materials you need to start a conversation with your neighbors about being part of this movement for change. But it can only happen if you're willing to take the leap and put together a June 9th Walk for Change event where you live:

We're more likely to nod quickly and smile when unloading the groceries or walking the dog than we are to stop and talk about the things that shape our common destiny.

But the great issues of our day shouldn't just be topics to fill time between commercials on cable news. These challenges -- ending the war in Iraq, solving the health care crisis, tackling climate change -- affect each one of us personally.

And the solutions to each one will require personal investment from all of us.

That's why it's so important to create this dialogue in your community -- to have a serious conversation about what matters most to your neighbors, and to share with them why this movement for change is personal for you.

We shouldn't be afraid. Americans everywhere are hungry for change, and waiting for someone to show them where change will come from.

On June 9th, if you organize a Walk for Change event, that change will come from your community, and the person showing the way will be you.

Thank you.

Barack Obama

P.S. -- As you read this, people across the country are planning their events using the My.BarackObama.com tools. If you're not ready to host your own walk, there may already be one in your community that you can join. Use our interactive map to search for one near you: